How often do you remain quiet when you have something to say?
How often do you ignore your intuition when you need to take action?
How often do you hold back when you know it’s time to move forward?
Have you gone years without even asking yourself the questions about what you want and what you like? Who you are and who you’re not?
Because the life you’ve fallen into has told you exactly who to be?
What to like?
How to act or look?
And what to give your time and energy to?
Are you living a life that is yours?
Are you ready to claim authority over your own life?
A life that feels congruent with who God made you to be? With what He’s called you to? With the story He’s writing for you?
What loves, what desires, what dreams, what callings have you ignored?
You can continue to ignore them as long as you want, but eventually they will get louder – or if you ignore them long enough, they will go silent
I lived that life where I ignored the callings of my heart, and it is soul sucking. It is no life at all. It’s survival.
And we were created to Live Fully and Freely. To Thrive.
My life began to change for the better for me when I came to understand that I get to decide how I want to live. I get to shape my days and hours, and I get to be who I am. I don’t have to be who I’m not.
I also came to understand that if I don’t decide how I want to live, other people and circumstances will shape it for me. And then I’m no longer living my life.
To live meaningful, joyful, fulfilling lives, to live in freedom, to live the life we were created to live, we must be willing to step up and be Brave enough to own our lives.
Are you brave enough to own your life?
Owning and Loving our Lives takes Courage.
I love Brene Brown’s explanation of Courage. She says,
“Courage is a heart word. The root of the word courage is ‘cor’ – the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences — good and bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as “ordinary courage.”
To me, living a courageous life looks like living and speaking from your heart. It’s living out of who you really are.
It’s living the life that is different from what society says you should live.
It’s walking away from performance and getting off of the hamster wheel.
It’s disappointing people when it means honoring your truth.
It’s walking away from what no longer serves you to walk towards something that does even if it doesn’t meet other’s expectations or demands.
It means to choose to love when it feels risky and scary and when you want to self-protect.
It means trusting God and honoring His truth when it doesn’t feel like it’s true.
If you’re not living the life you want to be living, it’s time for a change. It’s time to do something different. Be brave enough to take back ownership of your life in these 10 ways.
- Have The Courage to Be Who You Are.
Express yourself fully and authentically in every relationship and in every encounter you have with others, giving up pretending anything other than who you are. There is nothing more valuable or attractive.
- Have The Courage to Use Your Voice
Ask for what you want. Don’t expect others to read your mind. Learn to clearly communicate your desires. Be bold. Be assertive.
Dare to speak up, to give voice to your concerns, your feelings and thoughts and to engage in conversations that you’ve been hesitant to have before.
You get to say, “This is who I am. This is who I’m not. This is what I want. This is what I no longer need or want.”
- Have The Courage to Take Responsibility
Own your choices and your decisions. Don’t blame your situation or your feelings on others but instead look responsibly at your thoughts and actions to see if you need to make changes that will produce a different result.
- Have The Courage to Set Boundaries
Say no to the things that are not in line with your priorities and to what doesn’t bring life to you – this requires first being clear about what you most want. Also, get clear about what you are responsible for and what is not yours to take on.
- Have the Courage to Forgive Yourself and Others
Get unstuck from regret or self-hatred. Remember you are not your mistakes. You have to forgive yourself. Shame and condemnation are not motivating you. And choose to forgive the person who has hurt you even if they may get away with it because freedom is most important to you. Holding onto unforgiveness keeps you stuck and prevents you from receiving the blessings in the present moment.
- Have The Courage to Rewrite Your Script
Begin to question the assumptions and beliefs you’ve been living by up to now and open your mind to alternative perspectives. This opens up new possibilities for yourself and your life that you otherwise may never have seen. Ultimately being willing to challenge your stories, and rewrite your scripts frees you to experience live in a whole new, exciting and meaningful way.
- Have The Courage to Let Go
We like to feel in control. We resist what we can’t control, which results in our struggle and suffering. Letting go of what we can’t control allows us to move into the flow of life where peace, wisdom, love, and blessings are available.
- Have The Courage to Open Your Heart Fully
Experience the joy and fulfillment that comes from connecting with others openly, intimately and compassionately. Let down your defenses and make yourself vulnerable. Drop the barriers that are creating distance and isolating you from others, and let yourself be known fully.
- Have The Courage to Dream Bigger
Dare to dream. Allow your dream to rise up in you. It was placed in you by your Creator, and it is your seed to water and grow. Don’t let fear, distraction, or doubt keep you from connecting with what it is you really want for yourself and your life.
- Have The Courage to Step Boldly into Action
Nothing changes if nothing changes. Step boldly out of your comfort zone and do something different. Trade procrastination and excuses for a commitment to make a move in the direction of what you want, or away from what is no longer serving you.
Be confident in your action, knowing that God and the Universe as He created it will honor and support you, and that the wisdom, direction, and resources that you need, will show up in your path.
So, Today…
Will You Choose to Courageously Take Back Ownership of Your Life?
It is one of the most important, most rewarding, and life-changing decisions you will ever make.
Be Brave.